1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to a divided-type multi-pole connector in which a plurality of kinds of connectors are mounted in a single frame.
2. Related Art
As is well known, an automobile is equipped with various kinds of lamps, wipers, a fuel indicator, a speedometer and so on, and these various parts are connected by a wire harness to an electrical box serving as a socket. In this case, if connector terminals are provided separately for the various kinds of parts, there would arise various problems such as an increased frequency of fitting of the connector terminals, and therefore there has been used a divided-type multi-pole connector, also called a multiple connector.
FIG. 7 shows one example of a conventional multiple connector. One housing 1 comprises a plurality of sub-housing portions 5A and 5B connected together by a frame portion 6. Female connector terminals (not shown) are provided in the sub-housing portions 5A and 5B.
The other housing 2 also comprises a plurality of sub-housing portions 7A, 7B and 7C connected together by a frame portion 8. Female connector terminals (not shown) are provided in the sub-housing portions 7A, 7B and 7C, and male connector terminals (not shown) are provided in the sub-housing portion 7B. The two housings 1 and 2 are tied together by tightening a bolt 3 relative to a nut 4.
For assembling a wire harness, sub-portions for dividing the wire harness are arranged, and these sub-portions are assembled independently of each other. After this assembling operation is finished, the separate sub-housing portion 5A is fitted in the frame portion 6 to be combined with the other sub-housing 5B, thereby forming the one housing 1. Also, the separate sub-housing 7C is fitted in the frame portion 8 to be combined with the other sub-housing portions 7A and 7B, thereby forming the other housing 2. Then, these housings are supplied to a production line for automobiles.
In the multiple connector of the above construction, the sub-housing portions 5A and 5B are integrally combined together to form the one housing 1, and the sub-housing portions 7A to 7C are integrally combined together to form the other housing 2. Therefore, in the production line for automobiles, the fitting operation for the multi-pole connector can be carried out by effecting one tightening operation between the bolt 3 and the nut 4.
In the multiple connector of the above construction, when the sub-connectors 5A and 5B are to be attached to the frame 6, and also when the sub-connectors 7A, 7B and 7C are to be attached to the frame 8, these sub-connectors are retained by frame lances or projections (not shown). However, if the sub-connector is in an incompletely-retained condition, the tightening of the bolt is carried out, with the sub-connector not completely fitted in the frame, in which case the connection between the connectors is incomplete. Namely, the above multiple connector is not provided with any means for confirming the retaining of the sub-connectors on the frame, and therefore the connector has been transferred to a subsequent process step, overlooking such incomplete retaining.
The above multiple connector is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 4-94278, and various connector constructions are also disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication Nos. 61-166483 and 63-3075.